Heat Wave Triggers Near Record Power Demand
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – State power officials have projected near record electricity demands for at least the next two days as temperatures soar to record heights in many areas of California.
California ISO – the organization that manages the state's power grid – predicted a demand of 46,458 megawatts at 6 p.m. Monday with it increasing to 47,841 on Tuesday.
The highest measured demand for electrical power took place on July 24, 2006 when the system needed 50,270 megawatts.
The total capacity of the state-wide system is 71,079 megawatts.
In the Bay Area, Pacific Gas & Electric said it dealt with nearly 3,000 hot-weather related outages on Sunday. The worst hit area was the South Bay with 1260 followed by the East Bay with 1100.
The utility said it was the highest number of heat related outages in a single day since the July 2006 'Great Heat Storm.'
The hot weather is expected to continue through most of this week and PG&E officials said extra crews and resources were being brought in to help restore power to all customers.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has extended a heat advisory for the San Francisco Bay Area until 9 p.m. Thursday.
Residents were being advised to avoid heavy activity in the heat and not leave children or pets in vehicles.
Heat records for June 18 toppled around the region.
San Francisco saw 88 degrees downtown, up from the 1993 record of 86. San Jose was 103 degrees, surpassing the previous record of 99 in 1945. Oakland saw a high of 97, beating the benchmark of 93 set in 1962.
Forecasters say temperatures may be cooler by a few degrees through Thursday. Temperaturs are expected to drop more significantly on Friday.
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